* Apple Inc plans to build some Mac computers in the U.S. for the first time in about a decade, investing $100 million next year in an effort that could serve as a high-profile test of American manufacturing competitiveness.

* U.S. officials launched a criminal probe of a $10 million sale of stock by Big Lots Chief Executive Fishman before the company announced news that sank its stock.

* The Securities and Exchange Commission said it may bring suit against Netflix Inc and Chief Executive Reed Hastings over a post that Hastings made on Facebook several months ago, marking one of the higher-profile reverberations for an executive for posting on Facebook Inc's namesake site.

* Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co spent their latest go-round in federal court by dickering over more than $1 billion in damages set by a jury in August following a high-profile patent trial.

* The Washington Post, one of the last holdouts against the trend of charging readers for online access to newspaper articles, is likely to reverse that decision in 2013, according to people familiar with the matter.

* IBM, a bellwether for employee benefits, is overhauling its retirement program to contribute once a year to employee 401(k) accounts in a lump-sum payment.

* Tax uncertainty in Washington is setting off a mad scramble among wealthy taxpayers and charities to maximize donations before the end of the year.

* Military counterterrorism officials are seeking more capability to pursue extremist groups in Africa and elsewhere that they believe threaten the U.S., and the Obama administration is considering asking Congress to approve expanded authority to do it.

* Alcatel-Lucent is considering mortgaging parts of its past and future as it looks to buy time for a restructuring.

* Investors have been flocking to buy bonds issued by top-rated companies. But some of the biggest fund managers warn of risks in what were once seen as the safest investments.

* The rise in Deloitte's nonaudit revenue spotlights a recent resurgence in consulting and other nonaudit work by the Big Four accounting firms, a decade after conflict-of-interest concerns and corporate scandal sharply limited such work.

* Steelmakers, trying to reverse a prolonged decline in prices, have demanded spot-market price increases of up to 15 percent in the U.S. over the last seven weeks, according to letters sent to customers, but are only getting an average rise of around 10 percent, marking a modest recovery for a battered industry.

* Fidelity Investments is offering its retail clients access to hedge-fund firms through a mutual fund launched in partnership with Arden Asset Management.

* PokerStars is in talks to buy the Atlantic Club casino, a move that could position the company to benefit should New Jersey legalize online gambling.

FT

ECB CUTS EUROZONE GROWTH FORECASTS

The European Central Bank slashed its eurozone economic outlook for next year, forecasting further contraction at a time of record unemployment, but decided to keep interest rates on hold as it saw no big threat from inflation.

POSSIBLE GERMAN-US DIVIDE OVER DEUTSCHE AUDIT REVELATIONS

The revelations that German regulators were briefed about Deutsche Bank's valuation of a clutch of complex derivatives now under investigation by the SEC potentially sets up a transatlantic conflict with U.S. investigators.

MAGNITSKY BILL PASSES ON TAIL OF TRADE DEAL

The U.S. Senate approved legislation Thursday that blacklists a group of Russian officials accused of human rights violations as part of a broader bill that normalises trade relations with Russia.

APPLE TO MAKE MACS IN US ONCE MORE

Apple will move manufacturing of some Mac computers back to the United States next year, the first time in more than a decade that its products will be made as well as designed in America, its chief executive said on Thursday.

INVESTIGATION CLOUDS ROLLS-ROYCE HORIZONS

The UK's Serious Fraud Office - which is investigating whether Rolls-Royce paid bribes in connection with sales it made via intermediaries in China and Indonesia - found reasons for concern on Thursday.

BLACKSTONE TO BUY TRUST DUTCH TAX FIRM

Blackstone Group is buying Intertrust Group, which is owned by Dutch investor Waterland Private Equity Investments and in part helps companies minimise their tax bills, for 675 million euros ($877 million).

BRITISH GAS EYES MORE ASSET SALES

BG Group is exploring selling more assets linked to it $20 billion natural gas development in Australia, in yet another move to unlock capital that would help finance its spending commitments.

HURDLES REMAIN FOR UPS ON TNT DEAL

UPS is making progress in its quest to win EU approval for its 5.2 billion euro takeover of TNT Express but still faces a big challenge in convincing Brussels that it has a credible buyer for a swath of assets across eastern Europe.

SPOTIFY CLOSES SUBSCRIPTION GAP WITH RIVAL

Spotify has attracted 1 million subscribers in the United States, catching up with the 11-year-old American pioneer of digital music subscriptions, Rhapsody, in only 16 months.

NYT

* Apple Inc plans to join a small but growing number of companies that
are bringing some manufacturing jobs back to the United States, drawn by
the growing economic and political advantages of producing in their
home market.

* Netflix Inc disclosed on Thursday that the
Securities and Exchange Commission was considering taking action against
the company and Chief Executive Reed Hastings for its Facebook
communication. The agency, in a so-called Wells notice, warned that it
may file civil claims or seek a cease-and-desist order.

* The
antivirus software pioneer John McAfee was hospitalized briefly on
Thursday after being denied political asylum in Guatemala, and his
lawyers said they were making a last-ditch effort to keep him from being
flown back to Belize for questioning about the killing of a fellow
American expatriate.

* Acknowledging that the economy is likely
to remain weak well into next year, the European Central Bank sharply
reduced its growth forecast for the euro zone Thursday, and left its
main interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.75 percent.

* A
blaze that killed 112 workers in Bangladesh last month exposed a
disconnect among retailers like Sears Holdings Corp and Wal-Mart Stores
Inc, the monitoring system to protect workers and the factories filling
the orders.

* President Obama's insistence that marginal tax
rates rise for families making more than $250,000 has convinced millions
of affluent Americans that they are likely to be writing larger checks
to the government next year.

* Mylan Inc is suing the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration to force the agency to revoke Ranbaxy
Laboratories Ltd's exclusive rights and allow Mylan to begin selling a
generic version of Novartis' top-selling blood pressure drug Diovan.

*
Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission,
sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday urging the
agency to allow more electronics on airplanes.

The letter, which
was addressed to Michael Huerta, the acting administrator of the FAA,
went on to promote the importance of allowing people to use these
devices on planes as more Americans become increasingly reliant on
devices for work and pleasure.

* The pharmaceutical industry is
challenging a California law that stipulates it pay for the proper
disposal of leftover pills that could otherwise pose a threat to the
environment.

* Planning delays, lack of money and limitations in
technology have slowed the creation of a communications network for the
police, firefighters and others in the United States.

* George
Zimmerman, accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon
Martin earlier this year, filed suit against NBCUniversal on Thursday,
alleging that news reports that edited his voice on a 911 tape
constituted defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* Two of the rivals for Premier Dalton
McGuinty's job have come out in favor of selling beer and wine in corner
stores, marking the first major policy difference among the Liberal
leadership contenders.

* Quebec's universities say they have
been blindsided by a directive from the provincial government demanding
they slash C$124 million ($125.33 million) in spending by April.

The
government says universities should have known of the cuts from the
previous Liberal government; the universities say they never got the
memo.

* Single cheques from political donors for sums above the
C$30,000 ($30,300) limit are allowable so long as they are later split
up and "attributed" to several entities, Alison Redford, Alberta premier
said.

Reports in the business section:

* Michigan
Governor Rick Snyder is launching an assault on the stronghold of the
U.S. labor movement, calling for the state to adopt so-called
right-to-work legislation - a move that threatens to revive the bitter
lab our-management battles of the 1930s and 1940s.

If Snyder is successful, right to work legislation moves a step closer to Ontario.

NATIONAL POST

*
Faced with the imminent release of an audit by accountants KPMG that
will push the total projected life-cycle costs of the F-35 jet fighter
purchase above C$30 billion ($30.32 billion), the operations committee
of cabinet decided Tuesday evening to scrap the controversial sole
source program and go back to the drawing board, a source familiar with
the decision said.

FINANCIAL POST

* WestJet Airlines Ltd
estimated that up to two-thirds of the historical cost advantage it had
enjoyed over Air Canada has been wiped out by the newfound flexibility
its larger rival has been granted in an arbitrated labor agreement with
pilots and a gradual increase in the Calgary carrier's own costs.

China

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- With 800 companies waiting to list and investor confidence dented, China needs to develop its bond and over-the-counter markets and lower the requirements for listing abroad to avoid a massive backlog of companies waiting to list, sources told the paper.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the average food price increased by 1.26 percent in November than the previous month. While the price of vegetables rose by 8.99 percent compared to last month, the fruit and meat prices increased by 1.22 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively.

SECURITIES TIMES

-- Auditor KPMG released a report on Thursday saying China's merger and acquisition volume fell by 19 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, but the average transaction amount saw an increase.

-- China United Property Insurance, a non-life insurer specialising in agriculture, is hoping to lure international strategic investors to boost its competitiveness, the firm's chairman said on Thursday.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- China's Communist Party head Xi Jinping said although China's economy is relatively healthy, the country cannot underestimate its current and future challenges, due to the world's slow economic growth, weak demand and over capacity in some industries domestically and the impact of rising prices and the lack of innovation.

Fly On The Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO CapitalMcDonald's (MCD) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney CapitalMelco Crown (MPEL) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorganSyngenta (SYT) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan

Downgrades

AvalonBay (AVB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at CantorDragonWave (DRWI) downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at CanaccordInterDigital (IDCC) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at StephensOverland Storage (OVRL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth CapitalRegal Entertainment (RGC) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper JaffrayToronto-Dominion (TD) downgraded to Sector Performer from Outperformer at CIBCUniversal American (UAM) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at GoldmanWhitestone REIT (WSR) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital

Initiations

3D Systems (DDD) initiated with a Buy at BB&TAlexion (ALXN) initiated with a Neutral at CitigroupAtmel (ATML) initiated with a Neutral at Lazard CapitalBank of America (BAC) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrustCapital One (COF) initiated with a Buy at Janney CapitalCitigroup (C) initiated with a Buy at SunTrustCorporate Executive Board (CEB) initiated with a Buy at Janney CapitalDanaher (DHR) initiated with an Outperform at BMO CapitalFIS (FIS) initiated with a Hold at JefferiesFiserv (FISV) initiated with a Buy at JefferiesGoldman Sachs (GS) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrustJPMorgan (JPM) initiated with a Buy at SunTrustMicrochip (MCHP) initiated with a Buy at NeedhamON Semiconductor (ONNN) initiated with a Neutral at Lazard CapitalOracle (ORCL) initiated with a Neutral at WedbushPNC Financial (PNC) initiated with a Buy at SunTrustStratasys (SSYS) initiated with a Buy at BB&TThe Advisory Board (ABCO) initiated with a Buy at Janney CapitalU.S. Bancorp (USB) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrustWells Fargo (WFC) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust

U.S. officials launched a criminal investigation of a $10M sale of stock by Big Lots (BIG) CEO Steven Fishman before the company announced news that sank its stock, sources say, the Wall Street Journal reportsInvestors have been buying bonds issued by top-rated companies at a record rate this year, but some of the biggest fund managers warn that dangers are lurking in what were once seen as the safest investments. These managers point to unusual wrinkles suggesting that now could be one of the most dangerous times in decades to lend to investment-grade companies, the Wall Street Journal reportsGermany's Bundesbank cut its 2013 growth outlook today to 0.4% from 1.6% in June, and now expects the country’s economy to barely grow next year, while it pointed to risks of a recession as the euro zone debt crisis takes its toll, Reuters reportsAXA (AXAHY) is considering investing in Sareb, Spain's so-called 'bad bank', CEO Henri de Castries said, a show of private sector support for the entity, Reuters reportsHewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) value has fallen to less than the $31B it spent during a five-year takeover binge, the strongest evidence yet that investors would be better served by disassembling the company, Bloomberg reportsThe lawyer for AMR Corp.’s (AAMRQ) unsecured creditors committee warned American Airlines pilots of the risks of rejecting a tentative contract that would allow the carrier’s post-bankruptcy plan to be weighed against a merger with US Airways Group (LCC), sources say, Bloomberg reports